You’ll often finding him burning wingers out wide but, for Plus500 Brumbies lock Nick Frost, the real onus is on putting his focus on the bread and butter in tight.
As athletic a second row as you’ll find in World Rugby, the 20-year-old has been honing his craft with the Canberra Vikings in the National Rugby Championship, starting in their miraculous semi-final comeback win over the Fijian Drua, one of eight appearances at that level this season, as the Vikings booked a date in the Grand Final.
“Physically, it was pretty tough in the first half and they played very well,” Frost said, in an exclusive interview for Brumbies.rugby.
“We still felt good and in the sheds at half-time and you could tell boys were confident we could come back.
“We all just looked at each other and we knew we had the energy to give it a red-hot crack which we did, scored a couple of quick tries and that got us back in the game. Thankfully we finished the job at the end. “
Frost has been in excellent form for Nick Scrivener’s side as they reached the NRC showdown, but not because he’s been giving the backs a taste of their own medicine, like he did for this ridiculous try at the U20 World Cup.
The 205cm speedster’s reputation is growing because of his immense work in the rough stuff, something Frost says he’s been working to improve.
“The tight stuff, working in the middle that has been the work on for me for the last couple of years,” Frost explained.
“I still want to be that edge running player, but if I can get that balance and work on my physicality and my core roles, lineout, scrum, exits, it will give me much more of a chance to succeed.
“I suppose in the NRC, the way things have gone, I haven’t gotten many chances in space but that’s been, in a weird way, a silver lining for me personally because I’ve had to step up with my role in the team.
“I set a few goals when I arrived at the Brumbies, around getting stronger and that, and I meet with Dan [McKellar] and Laurie [Fisher] all the time, to revaluate and set new goals all the time. Still, I know I’ve got so much work to do to make that extra step up to Super Rugby.”
Frost didn’t get much time to bed himself into the Brumbies group when he arrived in Canberra, making the NRC a perfect platform for the exciting second-row to show his worth not only to his Brumbies coaches, but to his teammates as well.
“It’s definitely helped the transition,” Frost commented.
“Having most of the boys be contracted to the Brumbies, you get to know them more, but even the club lads as well, it just makes it easier transitioning to life in Canberra as a whole.
“Building that camaraderie, that mateship with the boys is so important. It’s awesome to learn and see how they play, and for them to see how I play, and to prove a point to them as well.
“Not in a competitive way or anything but coming into any new environment you have to establish respect and trust amongst your teammates, and I feel I’ve been able to do that which is great.”
Instant success is not something Frost has had to focus on, but with the Brumbies Lock stocks in a transitionary period, there may be a chance for him to make his Super Rugby debut sooner rather than later but, as ever, Frost is focusing on the work, the process.
“I haven’t got goals as far as Super Rugby or anything, not yet at least,” Frost admitted.
“I enjoy preseason, I enjoy that work so I’m genuinely looking forward to ripping in pre-Christmas.
“It’s hard, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a chance for me to show what I can do. I’ve not put any restrictions on myself as far as Super Rugby goes but it wouldn’t help me to look any further than NRC or my gym work right now.
“If I can’t play at that level, the NRC level, I can’t think about Super Rugby, so I want to show myself for the Vikings first then have a real crack at pre-season and, if I get the call, that’s amazing, but if not, I’ll just keep plugging away.”
The Brumbies Super Rugby campaign, which will be their 25th year of involvement in the premier Southern Hemisphere competition, commences on Friday 31 January with the visit of the Reds to GIO Stadium in Canberra.
The best way to watch the Plus500 Brumbies in action in the 2020 Super Rugby season is to purchase a Membership.
Plus500 Brumbies memberships are on sale now. For membership enquiries contact membership@brumbies.com.au or 1300 228 278
